Media Statement
Justice Department and Multichoice join forces to combat Piracy
07 March 2024
The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development (DOJ&CD) and the Multichoice Group have today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on combating piracy in South Africa.
This partnership will bolster enforcement actions against piracy, sending a strong deterrent message to perpetrators and significantly aiding in the review of pertinent laws and the enhancement of training for judicial and enforcement agencies.
The current legislative gaps mean there is no incentive for hosting providers and other intermediaries, including financial institutions, to work with legitimate role-players in the Audio-Visual (AV) content value chain or with the police to reduce piracy and block online pirate websites and the sharing of pirated content.
Ideally such measures should form part of a broader policy and legislative response to deal with cybercrime, cyberpiracy and cyberterrorism through blocking access to infringing domains/IP addresses, reducing harm through public education, disrupting payments, improving financial investigation and enforcement responses to these actions.
A key starting point is co-operation as captured in the MOU between the local AV content industry and key government departments and enforcement agencies to identify the appropriate legislation and regulations to target content piracy in South Africa.
The MoU will cover the following areas of collaboration:
– Policy Development and Regulatory Frameworks
– Capacity Building and Experience Sharing
– Intellectual Property Rights Protection and Anti-Piracy Partnership
– Monitoring and compliance
This is a critical moment for our department as we collaborate with critical role players to tackle challenges that erode the well-being of the creative sector and enhance our capacity to deal with new crimes in the cyber-security environment. Minister Lamola’s leadership in this regard has been immensely instrumental.
“As MultiChoice evolves from a traditional video entertainment business into a diversified platform business focused on technology, we are committed to promoting legitimate content consumption and supporting the creative industry. We look forward to strengthening partnerships with a number of stakeholders, including the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, to wage a coordinated war against piracy,” said Marc Jury, CEO: MultiChoice South Africa.
Advocate Doctor Mashabane, Director General of the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development (DOJ&CD) said this initiative marks another milestone in the Government’s efforts to fight broadcast and content piracy, which continue to drain the fiscus of billions of Rands a year. This shows commitment to protect the creative industry so it can grow and attract investment.
Enquiries:
Ms. Kgalalelo Masibi
Department of Justice and Constitutional Development
065 747 0323
Kmasibi@justice.gov.za
Issued by Department of Justice and Constitutional Development
